Something Profound
by BokchoiBaboy
Summary: AU. NejiTen. In a world of casual routine, she was positive that she would never find what she needed. Too bad he proved her wrong.
1. casual routine

I've come to realize that my life was lacking something; perhaps it was reason? For as long as I could remember, I've always been alone; there are no memories of a family to me. I've made the best of friends, through high school and through college, and I'm grateful that I've met such close people. I suppose I'm glad for finding a job I really love (I'm a Detective at the Konoha Police Department, specializing in Arms!), and thankful for my awesome co-workers (who also consist of my best friends!). But even _that_ isn't enough to satisfy this sort of, _craving,_ for finding what I'm lacking.

I suppose the one thing I need in this life isn't something I can buy or pick up off the streets.

After years of thinking about what my life was lacking, I've come to realize it wasn't a family, nor was it any more friends. All I needed was _something profound._

-

**-**

**Something Profound  
Chapitre Un – **_casual routine_

**Disclaimer:**Don't own Naruto.

-

"Oi, oi! Do you ever do anything other than firing in this range?"

A twenty-one year old pink-haired woman carefully walked into the specialized firing range in the Konoha Police and Investigations Department, throwing on a pair of earmuffs and goggles for protection. A scowl was present on her face, her lips formed in a hard frown.

"Something up, Sakura?"

The twenty-two year old woman, who was previously trying out a new shotgun, placed the weapon on the rack to her side, removing her goggles from her eyes. The woman was the head of the Arms department, her knowledge of every single weapon on the planet immense and respected (and perhaps even feared). She was known around the streets for her intimidating personality, her cheery attitude, or her unique hair, which was always tied in two, unique panda-ear buns. She was also known as the girl who was alone ever since she was seven, just a random wanderer into the bustling city of Konoha with no records of a family.

"Can you believe it? Freaking Kakashi dumped his class on me! I'm a _medic, a medical investigator and detective, _not a teacher!"

Haruno Sakura, with her distinctive pink-hair and emerald eyes, was the top medic and medical investigator in the police department. She was one of few at the department who had enough stamina and motives to be able to pull off a double-job; she was known not only for her accurate medical investigations, but known at the hospital as the top surgeon and the most requested one, aside from her mentor, Tsunade. When she was in her teenage years, she was pulled into the Police Force, along with her two partners, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke. The three of them were the top detectives, and usually called out for the most gruesome murder cases.

Tenten laughed at her best friend's antics, too amused by Sakura's never-ending problems with her investigative team to help cheer her up.

Tenten was also part of an investigative team, one used for quick and accurate investigations. Her partner was Rock Lee, a top martial artist (black belt!), and someone sent out for "impossible" missions and the sort. Both of them were well known in their department, and respected, due to their importance in the Force. However, their team was lacking a member, in which the Force could not find a suitable candidate to balance out their skills.

"Well, Sakura, you're nice with kids."

"Tenten, they're not _kids! _They're_ our_ age, even _older!"_

Tenten laughed and shook her head.

"Hey, this new shotgun I'm trying out might do the trick."

The Haruno cackled and shook her head.

"You kidding? Kakashi's got more than a new shotgun. You know the secrets behind our Force. Of course the general public would be scared to death if they figured out what we _really_ do. Which is why I understand Kakashi's hate of showing around interns. It's hard to keep such a large secret."

"Hey, we deal like any old Police Department. But I enjoy being a mix of the FBI, SAU (1), and a regular police department. Of course, that's why we're more like a branch office than the main one; we keep our secrets aside."

"He sorta reminds me of Lady Macbeth –" At this, Sakura and Tenten both winced at their high school days, "So much blood on his hands, I'm worried he'll go insane."

"As long as he doesn't begin yelling out, 'Out, damned spot, out I say!', I think he's fine, Sakura. You shouldn't worry about the old man. Hey, he may be old, but he's been in our specialized force longer than any of us combined."

"Have to give props to the creator. ANBU's an attractive name. And whoever came up with the uniforms is even hotter, I've got to say."

The two girls commenced laughing.

"If only those hot clothes weren't always stained with blood, huh?"

"Got that right."

-

****

-

The cafeteria was as full as usual, with many of the Force members on a lunch break from a long morning of paperwork and reporting. Many of their demeanors were tired, yet mysterious, as they sat with the normal people they sat with, at the same table they always sat at. It was casual routine for the members of the special branch office of the Konoha Police Department; anything that was not routine was instinctively dangerous.

Tenten sat at the usual table that her group sat at, munching on the fulfilling lunch that she had taken from the buffet-like table. The other members of her group had not yet arrived, some having just returned from a long mission, and others stuck with the boring job of filing for the day. She had been lucky enough to be able to have tested out new guns that had just arrived from secret distributors in the firing range, where she was able to chat with Sakura.

"There's more gang activity springing up in the main streets of the city. It's a pain having to kill most of them off."

"Shows you society nowadays, doesn't it?"

"Oh please. If there's one thing that disgusts me, it's _those _kinds of people who think they're God and can just rape people whenever they feel like it."

Tenten looked up and found the Legendary Team Seven taking their usual seats at the table, still clad in the special uniform of the Police Department's SAU (1) unit. Sakura and the blond sitting next to her offered Tenten a greeting smile, while the raven-haired man sitting beside them offered her an acknowledging look.

"Back from an easy mission, I assume."

"Easy. We're all getting sick of killing up these undergrounds. I mean, seriously. You'd think they would've gotten the idea after we killed off the first one," Sakura nonchalantly said, taking a bite out of her steaming cinnamon roll.

"Seriously," the blond said, bringing in his first bites of steaming hot ramen, "It's a pain cleaning off wasted blood stains."

The blond was the infamous Uzumaki Naruto, who inevitably had a fox demon sealed inside him. He was probably one of the nicest members of the force, helping out any newbie who asked for help. On the battlefield, he was one of the most reliable and most powerful, the power of the fox demon aiding him immensely. His past was known as a hard one, left on the city streets to live until his teacher, Kakashi, had taken him in.

"They deserve to die. I don't see the problem," the raven-haired man said, calmly taking a bite out of his sandwich.

The raven-haired man was Uchiha Sasuke, son of the head of the Police Department. He was infamous for arrogance, bluntness, and being an ice-cube, but most annoyingly known as "He-Who-Had-the-Fanclub-of-Banshees". He, along with Naruto, was one of the most powerful, training daily to fit the expectations of his father. In enemy territory, his eyes became an intimidating red, said to be able to see the future and copy all abilities.

Tenten smiled.

"You're lucky. I haven't been with any missions lately."

Team Seven looked at each other quietly, before continuing to eat their lunch.

Tenten threw a questioning gaze to all three, but to no avail.

"Figures," she snorted, "Secrets aren't that rare here."

Sakura grinned.

"Secrets are always exposed here, at one time or another."

There was silence, before Tenten quietly nodded.

"True."

-

****

-

"You asked for me, Fugaku-san?"

The familiar face of Uchiha stared back at Tenten, as the same raven-colored hair and the same onyx-colored eyes faced her. There was a grave difference between the two Uchiha present in the force. And that one difference was all that made the SAU (1) as terrifying as it was.

"I did."

The man that was head of the Konoha Police Department (positioned at the Branch office, suspicious as it were), and head of the SAU (1), offered her a blood-chilling smile.

He made the SAU everything that it was.

He was Sasuke multiplied one thousand times over in the _terrifying _department.

Uchiha Fugaku. Fearless. Intimidating. Powerful.

(and the man who had no time for his youngest son)

"Well, I've been wondering, Fugaku-san," Tenten said, taking a seat in the chairs present before Fugaku's desk, "Why I haven't been assigned any missions lately?"

Fugaku's grin widened.

"You've got one now."

"Seriously? Do I have to wait for –"

"Rock Lee, your partner, is on a solo mission at the moment, as you know."

"_Seriously?_ I get to go solo for this one?"

Tenten could swear she saw the resembling, fear-inducing grin in Sasuke as his father's grin widened.

"Your deadline is next week. You will bring your target in, _alive._"

"Not dead? That's a new one," Tenten muttered.

Fugaku chuckled.

"You will bring him alive, as I said, and unharmed. If you fail, you _will_be held responsible for the consequences. This is important."

"Yessir."

-

****

-

-

-

**TBC**

-

**A/N:**A new NejiTen story. C:  
(Because I really needed some NejiTen. Seriously.)  
I suppose it's more actiony-mystery type.  
But I hope you'll all enjoy it.  
And by the way, I left most of the information about the Police Department/Force a mystery for later chapter reasons.  
It'll probably open up in the next chapter.

(1) SAU - Special Assassinations Unit (I made this up.)

Thanks C:


	2. the unknown STARTCHASE

Tenten quietly moved through the dark streets of the city, her unusual uniform nearly blending into the tension of the night. She noted how most lights were turned off, due to the unholy hours of the morning, and almost smiled when she thought if there was ever a time that her lights were not on at this hour. The perfect mix of the white and black uniform was almost ethereal, as if the designer was properly educated in the ways of light-dark, shadows and reflections, and had designed the most perfect uniform to wear on the most gruesome of days.

Taking a quick look at herself in the reflection of a shop mirror, Tenten merely giggled at the sight of her. Even though the light outside was still dark as the early comings of night, her trained eyes allowed her to catch her reflection. She saw an ordinary girl, with a not-so-ordinary life; a girl striving to fill the gap in her life, the gap that she believed would never be able to be filled.

It was _lacking _something –

_Lacking_ something like –

"So it's clear."

"I'm not quite sure I understand your terms."

The voice that spoke most recently was icily smooth, so cold but holding such formal attraction it was impossible to not wonder what the speaker looked like.

"I'm sure you do understand," the first voice said, in a menacing, icy tone, "After all, you're known for your prowess, are you not?"

"I could hardly call it anything with such positive connotation."

_Ah, _Tenten thought as she blended into the shadows, _A killer who hates to kill. _

"I don't care what you think about such 'connotation'. You will do the job. You've no choice, have you?"

There was mumbling.

"What're you doing?"

Tenten took a deep intake of breath, knowing that the alluring voice was not meant for the first speaker.

-

-

**Something Profound  
Chapitre Deux – **_the unknown STARTCHASE_

**Disclaimer:**Don't own Naruto.

**-**

**-**

The early morning still remained dark and mysterious, but the first signs of the rising sun were becoming visible against the sky. There was a thick tension in the air that choked Tenten, one that she was never confronted with, nor ever thought about confronting. In the dark was a beautiful man, almost too beautiful to be _human_, standing with a mysterious smirk present on his pale lips. There was no sign of the other speaker, who had probably scuffled away in the moments Tenten had lost her mind when the man appeared in the limited specs of light.

"I believe I asked you a question," the man said, his voice spoken in the same, alluring tone, "What are you doing?"

Tenten blinked for a few seconds, before the bravery that she had trained herself since she was young kicked in. Her lips formed a small smile and she shrugged, inwardly noting that she could trust herself with a gun if called for.

"Just an early morning stroll," she casually replied.

The man blinked, controlling himself to not burst into laughter from the apparent practice of the perfected excuse.

"Surely you give me more credit than that?"

Tenten's eyes widened in surprise, and the man continued, leaning against a building wall as his unusual eyes scanned the brightening sky.

"I honestly look that stupid to you? Honestly, people –"

"Jumping to conclusions isn't always what they seem, are they? Keep in mind," Tenten said, her eyes narrowing like a lion ready to pounce upon prey, "That I could easily ask you the same question."

The thick tension was replaced by the strongest urge to figure out who was the strongest in the battle of wills and wit. Tenten's eyes continued to watch the man carefully, narrowed in the utmost concentration. No matter how alluring he looked, she was on a mission. She could not afford to get distracted from her main goal. The man, in return, was scrutinizing her every detail, not overlooking the fact that her uniform eerily blended into the scenery.

"You could," the man carefully said, "But then I would have to retort as to why your uniform is so easily blended. Not a coincidence either, but you can try me."

Tenten's eyes released the tight, narrowed look, instead widening to indicate her utmost surprise. She was positive that the untrained eye would not be able to so easily notice the design and purpose of her attire. Instead of replying, her lips formed a crooked smile. The man smirked, nearly letting his lips form a smile, before breaking the silence once more.

"Of course, if you tried me, I'm sure that I would win. Not everyone's like you, are we, Tenten?"

At this, the girl's mental self-controlled snapped, her lips curling into a frown.

"How do you know my name?"

The man laughed.

"Not very hard, living in this city like _I_do. Of course, it'd be close to stupid to not know who's the head of the most interesting, and perhaps most important, department of the Police? Nearly _everyone _knows your name, Tenten. Though, I had no idea the Police Department stored away uniforms like that. Much more reasonable as uniforms, personally."

"Then I believe you owe me a favor," Tenten carefully planned, "As to tell me your name."

At this the man mockingly disapproved.

"Tut tut, for my research, I must reply to one who hasn't put in such effort."

Tenten was about to retort, before his alluring voice casually forced her to remain silent.

"But I am Hyuuga Neji. Though since I am not bound by such ridiculous _chains _– (Tenten had no idea what he was speaking of ) – I will relieve both of us from the formality that I must fake from day to day."

"Ah, a relative of Hyuuga Hiashi. Not a surprise."

"I suppose you earn credit for that. Uncle, of course, is just strikingly rich to most commoners, but many don't dare to ask why. Quite shameful, to me at least."

"And how is having a job like _his _– (Tenten noted that Neji winced) – _shameful? _Isn't my job more – "

She quickly stopped herself, before completely exposing the real purpose of the Police Department, which went unnoticed by Neji. His eyebrow rose, expecting for the sentence to be completed, but realized that Tenten had not intended to babble on as much as she had.

"Ah-hah. That is where we vary in opinions. I suppose it may not appear shameful to one who hasn't had to live with it. But I, one with experience, say it shameful because I do not believe in pretending."

Tenten smiled.

It was an interesting spectacle, really, to be having such a casual chat around five in the morning with a stranger who had just been speaking to another person about a _job _in the _dark_.

"I believe," Tenten quietly said, below a whisper so the man next to her would not be able to hear, "That we are all so wanted for the wrong reasons."

Unbeknownst to her, Neji had perfectly heard her, with secretly trained acute senses. He decided to leave the topic at that, before staring up at the appearing sun.

"Would you like some coffee?"

Tenten, too, noticed the oncoming warmth of the sun, before gratefully nodding.

"Ah, that'd be great."

She smiled.

_It would be great._

_I will penetrate that barrier of yours – one that you think I can't see – and bring you back._

_Hyuuga Neji._

_Age 22. Nephew of Corporation CEO, Hyuuga Hiashi. Came from another city after parents died only just recently._

Neji quietly nodded and lead the way to the closest café, leaving the new glimmer in Tenten's eyes to ask about later.

_And the next, unfortunate, target of ANBU – or shall I say, the Konoha Police Department's SAU._

-

****

-

"I hope you don't mind me taking a second to run to the bathroom?"

After receiving a quick nod from the Hyuuga, Tenten quickly made her way to the empty bathrooms of the Konoha Café, still empty due to the earliness of the day. After randomly choosing a stall, she gently latched it closed, before taking out a small bag that fit in the pockets of her pants, and opening it. There was a quiet 'poof' as the contents popped out – a full set of ordinary clothes that would not attract attention from the public when they began to file into the café. Pulling on her white polo and a green pullover sweater, she quietly took in the information she was able to hear before her presence was known. After cursing her incredibly bad luck for pulling out a pair of Venice skinny jeans (she was not particularly to wear the type), she pulled them on and threw on her shoes. Carefully folding her uniform, it mysteriously fit into the small bag, which mysteriously fit in her pockets unseen. Taking a quick peek at herself through the mirror, she smiled contentedly at her usual look of carefree personality.

"You changed."

Tenten rolled her eyes when taking a seat at the corner table that Neji had chosen.

"As you said, that uniform isn't very attractive in the light – eerily of course."

She smiled when it was his turn to roll his eyes.

"Such a mystery, yet so easy to read you."

Her eyebrow rose, ready to ask a question, before the look on his face betrayed that he would not answer anything that related to the words he just muttered.

"Tenten! You'd think you'd just come down to the lounge for coffee!"

Tenten's eyes immediately brightened when she saw the familiar pink-hair make its way through the café. She smiled when her friend offered a welcoming smile to both her and her visitor, before standing awkwardly at the table.

"I would have thought that too, Sakura."

There was a conversation held within their eyes, which Neji did not fail to notice, before Sakura smiled once more.

"Well, I've ought to go. Sasuke and Naruto without their early morning dose of tea and coffee, honestly! Picky men, not wanting to drink the 'hideous drink' in the lounges! Hah! Poor Kakashi, spends all morning preparing it when nobody likes it."

The Haruno waved good-bye, continuing her babbling about her team while walking towards the register. Before disappearing from comfortable view, Sakura's head turned towards Tenten, her lips in the perfect position to read.

_Be careful. He seems awkwardly pleasant. He's a Hyuuga._

Tenten nodded. Sakura smiled, and turned once more, pulling out her wallet at the register and speaking her order.

"I'm sorry," Tenten sheepishly said, "I hadn't realized Sakura came down here to buy coffee."

"Ah, Haruno Sakura. A sight to see on the streets, when so requested at the hospital."

Tenten's eyebrow rose. The man had an uncanny knowledge of Sakura, the tone in his voice while speaking flowing with _something _that Tenten could not pinpoint. Replaying their short conversation before Sakura's polite interruption, Tenten deviously smiled.

"A mystery indeed."

And, unknowingly, the chase between the two ensued.

-

****

**-**

**A/N: **Hm, not exactly where I was going with this chapter.  
I hope it wasn't so filler-y, though it seemed like that to me.  
Hum, anyway.  
I know Neji is totally OOC, being pleasant and so talkative.  
I suppose he'll be OOC the whole story (I plan on making _him _chase after Tenten in the terms of love, uh-huh), but it won't be totally OOC after the next chapter.  
But I do plan on making the tie-in next chapter: my promise!

Thank you for reading!

(And by the way, **Twilight** by Stephenie Meyer is amazing. Really. I'm a hopeless romantic. Props to me!)


	3. sickeningly intertwined

"You seem to know a lot about the police department. Uncanny, or just an ability?"

"I can't help to realize that both words and options together spells uncanny ability. Where's your creativity?"

"You're such a judge."

"Unlike you," The Hyuuga said, taking a sip out of his freshly made tea, "Everyday in my _life _is significantly a day that I was lucky enough to survive."

There was silence, another think tension between the two as the seconds passed. Tenten's chestnut eyes dove into Neji's unusual pearl ones, trying to undo a barrier unconsciously, and yet, consciously. Neji returned her with an equally intense gaze, his eyes scrutinizing every detail of what was visible of her.

"Again, you're _such_ a judge," Tenten exasperatedly said, enjoying the warmth as her coffee surged through her body, "Just like you, my life is worth as many seconds as it lasts."

"Oh, but only few people can be _exactly _like me."

Tenten smiled. It seemed the conversation from the early morning had not yet faded, even after a few hours of sitting and casually chatting with the man she had just met.

"You have no idea."

-

-

**Something Profound  
Chapitre Trois – **_sickeningly intertwined_

**Disclaimer:**Don't own Naruto

-

-

Tenten had slowly realized that the portion of her morning was being spent with a man she had just met _earlier _that morning. She was generally surprised at herself, known around the department for her deep wariness of strangers; but more so, the conversation that she had walked in on was even more piercing in the surprising department. It also tormented her, begging her to know more about the man.

Something about him was intriguing, _appalling_ almost. It had occurred to her that she had never felt such attraction to anything (other than her weapons, of course), and it was almost terrifying to know that she even _knew _the feelings existed. She wasn't stupid of course (she _did_ live a harsh childhood), and knew that the attraction _now _was not love; had she explained it to Sakura or one of the best interrogators, Yamanaka Ino (also one of her best friends), they would instantly move into a fit of passions about "love". She sighed; the attraction wasn't easily explained, but she had some idea as to the basis of it.

He was attractive. She still had hormones, but she knew that this was the least of the reasons. There was something inky in his voice, and she, being a detective, had the natural inclination to solve and un-ink the tone; it was almost _too_alluring,_ too _fake for her liking. Also, fresh in her mind was the conversation that she had fatefully walked in on, the words spoken too fresh and too _real _for her to just leave it at an uncanny coincidence that Neji was 'known for his prowess' and the slick first speaker disappeared before she was known to be in their presence. But lastly, most importantly, he was her target, and she must find every outlet to dig out every soft spot to bring him back in perfect mental condition. But she knew that he was better than that.

He was onto secrets. He was onto _something._

She was going to solve it.

"Are you spacing out on me? That seemed unlikely."

Tenten sheepishly smiled.

"I apologize. I was just thinking."

Neji nodded in approval, before taking another sip of his tea. He stared at his pale, delicate fingers, as they gripped the warm cup of tea, bringing in a surge of warmth through his usually cold body. He was beginning a trail of thought – a trail of planning – from his recently acquired mission, which he had conveniently received before Tenten had walked in.

He inwardly smiled. Even though he was the nephew of an important (and insanely rich) CEO didn't mean that he had to uphold the same morals. He had been brought up differently, trained differently,_ lived_ differently, than his uncle, and he was too stuck on his morals and beliefs to ever change into a fake, smiling man who bet on his deals with shameful arrogance.

That being said, his morals were hardly morals. He was actually very pitiful, even _more _pathetic than his uncle, because of what he was. He wasn't a mythological creature, like a vampire or a werewolf (but with his stunning looks, it wouldn't be foolish to think so at first glance), but he believed that he was somewhere on the same level.

He killed people. _For money! _The most demoralizing thing to do on Earth for the most demoralizing thing on Earth! It was almost inconceivable, how he had stooped so low on the "pathetic" ladder. But, he supposed, he hardly had any choice. His "benefactor", at least, the person who supplied him with people to kill, was quite the talker, and had promised that if word got out about him, someone close to him _would _die. But what could the Hyuuga say? His uncle was selfishly greedy, hardly providing him any money for any _normal_ enjoyment, like buying decent clothes when his old ones worn out.

His eyes wandered to Tenten, who was taking a sip out of her coffee. He noted her extreme perception of the portrayal of emotions, even though she was lacking in the department herself, and her uncanny uniform. There was something peculiar, almost mysterious, about her.

Almost as if, as if he could believe her when she had said he had no idea about people like him.

"You hypocrite."

Tenten's voice surprised him, and his eyebrow rose at her unknowing accuracy. He agreed with her; he was a hypocrite inside every single cell of his body. He shamelessly called his _uncle_ pathetic, when _he _was the one killing people. He was a hypocrite – undeniably and painstakingly so. In turn, Tenten's eyebrow also rose, catching the ever-so-slight downcast look that had appeared in Neji's eyes for a few split seconds. Being one of the best people to send out for retrieval, or "tracker" missions, had taught her how to read eyes and be able to read even the tiniest emotions that were unconsciously being conveyed.

"I apologize," At this, Neji offered a tiny smile of apology, "I hadn't realized I was wandering."

Tenten smiled at his sincerity.

"It's quite alright."

Quickly taking in her last sip of coffee, she placed the empty cup at the edge of the table for the busboy to take on his next round, and offered another sheepish smile.

"Besides, I'm afraid I have to return to the office – "

At this, Neji smirked; glad to know that she was not planning to tag along all day, only because that he needed to do research.

"Ah! I'm sorry; I suppose I've kept you much too long."

He offered an alluring smirk, while Tenten smiled once more and got up from the table.

"Don't worry about it – we have no timecards. I'm sure we'll meet again, then?"

"Definitely."

She nodded in approval before stalking away, the confines of her mind filled with her strategy on how to trap him. A grin spread across her face, one that was too fitting for an assassin, as plans and thoughts floated into her mind.

There was no doubt about it; both had sensed the unconscious promise of seeing each other (to kill – or, in Tenten's case – trap) in the spoken words. And eerily enough, they both enjoyed it.

A challenge was a challenge, after all.

"Well, Tenten," Neji said, getting up from the table to return home for a nice nap to prepare himself for a long day of researching, "I'm afraid that our fates are undeniably intertwined in a way that is so sickeningly amusing."

Neji darkly chuckled.

"Sickeningly amusing indeed."

-

****

-

"Fugaku-san, I'm sorry to interrupt."

Tenten quietly stood at the door of Fugaku's office, patiently waiting for his reply. She concluded that it was not a good time, only because of the large stack of papers on his desk and his irritable expression, but still waited nonetheless. It was unlikely for Fugaku to ever turn down an ANBU who was on a mission.

"It better be good, Tenten. Remind me to kill Uzumaki – "

Tenten stifled a laugh at the apparent similarities in Father and Son.

"I'm sorry, Fugaku-san. I'm afraid I'm not your personal secretary."

Fugaku coarsely chuckled, a silent indication for her to get what she had to say over with before he lost all patience and sanity.

"Well, about my target – (Fugaku grunted 'hn, Hyuuga Neji again') – I was wondering, why exactly do you want him?"

There was silence, as Fugaku's eyes lifted from his paperwork for the first time and looked at her.

"I don't like to state my reasons for ensuring someone else's ticket to hell," Fugaku toothily grinned.

The hairs on Tenten's neck unconsciously rose, feeling the utmost bloodlust in her boss's grin.

"But you must at least be suspicious about something," Tenten pressed on, "Because everyone that you've sent _me_to target have a long history. A history that would have sent them to hell anyway."

"Perceptive as always, eh?" Fugaku grunted, continuing on with his paperwork.

"So it's true then – that he's doing something that's already assured his going to hell?"

Fugaku let out a sickening laugh.

"You are a silly person, Tenten," he darkly muttered, "But you are bright enough to figure out all that you need. Now good-bye! I need to finish this paperwork."

"I apologize again for the inconvenience. But thank you."

Tenten politely smiled, before closing the door behind her and quickly making her way to her office. She knew what to research, how to break his barrier, and how to make her attack. It was almost painfully clear now.

-

****

-

Neji smirked when he loaded the lethal bullets into his gun. Unusually sadist of himself, he found himself irrationally excited to final uncover her secret – to her _face _– and then kill her – because his benefactor told him to do so. He shook his head in disapproval as thoughts raced through his mind (it was uncharacteristic of him to feel so much bloodlust), while loading his gun then safely tucking it away on his belt.

"I had no clue your history is so inevitably tied to blood."

He darkly chuckled before getting up from his place and locking his door when he had left his room.

-

****

-

Tenten excitedly loaded her lucky gun, carefully putting the bullets in like a mother tending to a child. The thoughts of finally going on a mission excited her, but soon faded when the thoughts of not actually being able to fire her gun flashed through her mind. She shook her head in disapproval, but thanked the man for the challenge. She sighed at thoughts of leaving Neji unharmed, but got up from her place when she was certain all guns hidden in her clothing were loaded.

It wasn't everyday she was provided with such an intriguing challenge.

-

****

**-**

Tenten quietly walked the night streets of Konoha once more, thanking her uniform for the perfect cover as she appeared and seemingly disappeared into and out of the shadows. It had been a long day of researching and preparing for the end of her mission (she was disappointed it only managed to last a day), and was finally out and prowling the streets when the first tints of darkness began to appear. Her ears picking out light mumbling and shuffling, she quickly moved to the closest shadow and remained still.

"You've stalled. I'm impressed."

"It's not quite as fun to kill right when you assign someone. I'm particularly curious why you're so eager to have this one dead?"

Tenten mentally noted that when he was under her full control in the Police Department, she would hit him hard for having said "this one" so carelessly.

"I doubt she'll ever remember me, or why I exist," at this, Tenten listened carefully, "But if she stays alive today –"

There was a large gust of wind when two figures seemingly materialized from thin air in front of Tenten, who greeted them with the most sadistic smile she had ever pulled off in her life. Two guns were at the ready, other guns at her disposal within her clothing, and back-up throwing needles and knifes hidden in her hair and along with her guns.

"Well well," Tenten said, her sadistic smile not wavering once from her lips, "I thought I'd never be able to fire a real shot. I thank you for the most perfect opportunity."

All three, even Tenten, winced at the poisonous tone inching out of her mouth. It was intriguing, how a gun could change so much of her in the split second the thing got into her hand. She smiled; it wasn't her mission, but she knew Fugaku would thank her for the mysterious cause of most of the street murders. And she couldn't honestly say that the tempting words the mysterious man had spoken had little effect on her – it was _quite _the contrary. The words about his knowledge about her history had provoked her, provoked the apathetic monster inside of her; her unusual bloodlust was not solely due to the metal of her gun being the most favorite feeling she had against her skin.

"Well, well, Tenten. Coming from no family history, yet your weapons' skills are immense and unmatched. Infamous in our territory for being the best tracker ANBU sent out, along with Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Haruno Sakura. But undeniably you are used for the ones that are easily dealt with without backup. But I think that we are matched, evenly, if you will."

Tenten's eyes quickly moved when she felt the cold metal of a gun pressed against her skull. She smiled, fully understanding Fugaku's intentions of keeping Neji alive.

He was the new member of her team. She knew it.

"I agree, evenly matched, Hyuuga Neji. Your speed and your technique are unheard of. Yet your demoralization started way before your records of moving here, having a crime rate – and fanclub rate – rising due to your killing for money. Yet a well-balanced fight is the only real type of fight, don't you agree?"

She smiled, which was returned by Neji.

"It seems that we are sickeningly intertwined by Fate, Tenten."

"I don't like to refer it as Fate. Just really, really bad luck."

"So I am bad luck?"

Tenten smiled.

"In a few ways."

Neji smirked.

And in split seconds, guns were shot, but no sounds were heard.

Following afterwards, there was an agonizing scream, and the overwhelming smell of blood.

-

****

-

-

-

**TBC.**

**A/N:**Thanks for your reviews everyone C:  
I truly appreciate it!

Anywho, not quite sure _what_ to say about this chapter – uhm, _really._  
But I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless.

I have this ginormous urge to write a vampire story.  
XD

ANYWAY.  
Thanks for reading!


	4. the first flickers

"You are _so _not kidding me, right?"

There was a smug look on the Hyuuga's face.

"What can I say? I'm just really, really bad luck."

-

-

**Something Profound  
Chaptire Quatre – **_the first flickers_

**Disclaimer:**Don't own Naruto.

-

-

Tenten bit her lip forcefully, suppressing the pain of a bullet resting between her arm muscles. Blood was trickling from her biceps, leaving a warm trail across her skin as the liquid continued to unnaturally flow from the wound. She found that she had dropped her gun after its impact, instantly applying pressure to her gunshot wound after the bullet lodged itself in her skin.

"I so hate you. If Fugaku-san hadn't ordered – "

Tenten quickly stopped mid-sentence, her brow narrowing in intense concentration as her eyes expertly scanned the dark streets. She took a sharp intake of breath as surprise overwhelmed her, her legs shutting down and forcing her to sink to the floor. Neji watched her curiously, following her gaze to the spot where his 'benefactor' stood. In his benefactor's place was a puddle of blood, but nothing else. There were no traces of movement – or of anyone having ever been there – and he assumed that his benefactor had quickly escaped before getting caught.

"Well that's freaking great! There's a freaking _bullet _in my arm, that guy that _knew_ about me is gone, but I guess the bright side is that you're unharmed!"

Neji remained silent, unsure if her words were drenched with sarcasm or if her change of mood was natural. He found it appalling when she offered a bright smile as she got up onto her feet – as if there was no wound on her arm – and quickly reached for the hem of her shirt. Before she was able to use her arm and wound herself more, Neji tore a piece of his shirt off, and tied it around her arm, successfully stopping the blood from flowing for the time being.

"Thanks."

She offered him another smile; glad that the continuous flow of her blood would remain where it was designed to stay – in her arteries and veins. She knelt down and picked up her guns, carefully placing them in her pockets, all traces of her uncharacteristic bloodlust gone. Neji stood back quietly, absorbing every detail of her, every trace of her muscles and her skin –

"Let's get moving now, shall we? I need to report to Fugaku-san, and I think I need Sakura to get rid of this bullet."

Neji offered a nod, and she grinned.

-

****

-

Neji was surprised about Tenten's bubbly personality. On their hurried walk to the Police Department, the Hyuuga was knocked off his feet – in annoyance and in wonder – about how the woman could chatter and chatter and not care that there was a _bullet _in her arm. He supposed he understood; _he _had been shot many times before, and it wouldn't be surprising if the head of the Arms department hadn't suffered a few bullet wounds as well. But it was just so unusual to see someone, who was previously losing so much blood, to act as if nothing was wrong and there was no such thing as pain.

" – Did I ever tell you about Sasuke's –"

"My_ Gosh,_ woman, do you ever know when to stop talking? You have a freaking _bullet_ in your arm!"

Their hurried pace abruptly stopped as Tenten glared at the man beside her, her eyes seeming to glow red under the fading moonlight. She offered a menacing smile before continuing her walk, the bubbly edge to her footsteps returning. Her anger – and was it _bloodlust? _– did not fade, and she was on constant high-alert.

"Unlike_ you,_" Tenten said, "_I_ do not enjoy being a mystery. And _this _wound is _nothing. _Lee with a _shotgun_ – (Tenten winced at the particular memory) – now _that _is something."

Tenten's gaze softened for a few moments, her delicate, slender fingers tracing the faint scars across her skin.

"And besides, it's not the first time. Being shot as a five-year-old, now _that _was even worse than Lee."

Her lips formed a sad grin, her head shaking as if she was arguing with herself. Neji's gaze softened for a few moments, his eyes scanning her visible skin, taking in the number of painful scars. He was almost tempted to turn away, but by some annoying attraction, he could not break his gaze from her skin – particularly the places where stitch marks were visible.

_You have no idea._

Looking at her patched skin, he lightly shook his head, a small frown forming on his lips.

Perhaps he really did have no idea; perhaps her natural beauty had just blinded him from the truth. He knew that with the scars all over her body that she boasted, it would be hard to find someone off the streets who was not corrupt. And then his mind started wandering to the men in the Police Department, wondering if there were any that she particularly cared for –

The Hyuuga inwardly chuckled at his insane antics.

There was _no_ way he was going to fall in love. He had promised himself years ago – when his mother had left him – he would _never _fall in love.

"Were you zoning out on me again? Seriously, you hypocrite."

Neji shook his head.

"Impossible."

He was only thankful that she was not able to read him like an open book.

-

****

-

Sunrise was quickly approaching as the two finally made it to the Police Department, glad that the hurried walk through the dark streets had finally ended. Tenten smiled when few people were at the Police Department, the only sounds coming from the firing range and cafeteria. Neji scanned the department, taking in every hallway, every door, every room, memorizing the floor plans and escape routes.

"Do you want anything? I'm sure Kakashi's prepared some coffee or tea down in the cafeteria."

Neji stared into her chestnut eyes, almost desperately searching for the answers in the path that he had been pulled into. Tenten, in turn, offered a crooked smile, she too, searching for answers in the Hyuuga's pallid eyes.

There was something more to the mission, something more than just retrieving a target. Tenten felt that it had all been too easy – excluding her annoying wound – all too easy to bring in someone who was wanted by Fugaku himself. Even though she was sure that he was the new member of her team, she felt that there was something missing – something that was meant to be answered, but couldn't.

"No, thank you."

Tenten offered a smile, and began walking once more, Neji quietly following.

The Hyuuga found the Police Department a place of mystery; only this particular branch of the Konoha Police Department was where the police chief and the best detectives were found – never were they sent to a different department to balance out the strength of the different forces. And then there was that outfit that Tenten had worn the first day they had met; its uncanny ability to completely blend into the light and dark city streets had sparked a sort of curiosity within him.

What was more of a mystery was the woman that had led him here in the first place. His benefactor spoke as if he had known her in the past, of which he would not explain any further than Tenten not remembering. Even after researching, Neji was only able to find that unknown persons massacred her family when she was around five years of age, and had randomly appeared on the Konoha streets at age seven. He was aware that, like his, her history was tied to blood, a long winding path stained by the crimson liquid before her and behind her.

But there was something annoying about her, something that he couldn't quite comprehend. He had never found such an intriguing mystery before, even whilst researching the most random people his benefactor had ordered him to kill. There was an alluring factor, one that he could not just ignore, because something about her stood out to him and forced him to keep all attention on her. It was annoying –_ frustrating – _for his focus and resolve to have been broken. Never once did he stall in killing (perhaps murdering was the correct term) someone; his benefactor was correct in his unusual stalling in killing her.

"Tenten," Neji said, quickly snapping out of his reverie, "Are there people already out to cover up the blood?"

Tenten smiled.

"I'm sure Lee stopped by. He was scheduled to return from his solo mission today, so I wouldn't be surprised if Fugaku had contacted him and ordered him to go check it out."

"This Fugaku – the head of the Police Department – how does he know? He must have decent informers to be up to date about issues."

Tenten laughed, a hint of sarcastic enjoyment present in her laughter.

"You honestly need to meet Fugaku-san to understand how we work," she said, stopping in front of a large door, "There's a lot you need to learn before you understand how we work."

Neji smirked.

"Believe me, there are a lot of things I already understand."

-

****

-

Tenten quietly watched from her spot in the room as Fugaku continued his paperwork, occasionally glancing up to meet the pallid eyes of the Hyuuga with a smirk. Neji had taken a seat before Fugaku's desk, patiently waiting for the Uchiha to finish his paperwork and get on with the topic.

In the moments of silence, Tenten realized that there were mysteries about the man she wasn't particularly fond of. His type of pleasant demeanor was not something that could be called "pleasant" at all; his words and antics were itching with sarcasm, his smirks hinting mystery. She realized that she was unused to being met with such a mystery – with such a black hole that contained answers that could not be found.

It irked her, almost to a sort of insanity, to unravel the mystery of Hyuuga Neji. She knew that the person that had ordered him to kill her was tied to her in some way, as she heard the person speak before they had disappeared. Tenten sighed, unable to keep her eyes off his still form as he continued to patiently wait for her boss to finish.

She wondered if he was just like her, as he had hinted in their first conversations together, and if it was hurting him inside, too. Inside her was a silent insanity brewing within her heart and within her mind, seeing too much blood and hearing too many screams to be left alone any longer. But worse than the searing pain of being the cause of the overflowing blood and the agonizing screams was the catalyst to her worst pain and fear of all: loneliness. Tenten realized that living a life so alone for too long had caused her to long for something she could never, ever find – _completion._

Working in the Police Department, she had learned that casual routine was law; that anything that defied casual routine was a threat and should be immediately shot down. And it was part of her casual routine to wake up alone, to eat alone, and to live her life alone. There was nothing there that threw her routine off; even with her best of friends, every morning, every night, and every second of her life, was spent alone.

And so she supposed that the casual routine of being alone would never be broken.

So that meant so she would _die _alone. And the thought horrified her, almost to the extent of paranoia.

"Sorry for the delay," Fugaku gruffly said, placing the pile of papers on the corner of his relatively cluttered desk, "But you were quick as always, Tenten."

Tenten quickly looked into her boss's dark eyes, and offered a tiny smile.

"You know me. I hate delays."

Fugaku grinned at his employee before averting his gaze to the Hyuuga before him, curiously scanning him and observing him.

"So, I'm sure you've at least figured out some things about us, Hyuuga Neji?"

Neji smirked.

"Credit taken."

Fugaku nodded.

"Then, as you know, secrets are meant to be kept."

Tenten's eyebrow rose when her acute senses picked up Neji's quiet snarls of anger. She shook her head disapprovingly, a devious smile present on her lips.

"I'm not entitled to anything."

In seconds, Neji smirked when he felt the cold metal of Tenten's gun pushing itself against his skull.

"Tenten, you are responsible for cleaning off blood stains if necessary. I think we've had this discussion before," Fugaku said, his lips formed in an amused grin.

Tenten smiled.

"Hyuuga Neji, you said yourself that we were an even match. Either we take our balance onto the battlefields and we take the opposing sides, or – "

"Or I join the Police Department, am I correct?"

Fugaku grinned.

"Of course, if you decide not to take up this _pleasant _offer, I'm afraid you know too much."

Neji smirked, almost reveling at the cold touch of the gun against his skull. It was an exhilarating feeling, a feeling that was unfamiliar to him.

"Then I suppose that I will take up your offer," he smoothly said, "But I remind you that I'm not entitled to anything."

-

****

-

The walk home for the two seemed slow, as the first lights of morning began to flicker on. The streets were still relatively empty, due to the early morning hours, and for that the two were glad. Both were uncomfortable in the general public, Neji well-known and too formerly greeted for being the nephew of Hyuuga Hiashi, and Tenten used to her enclosed department life and mission-filled nights.

"Tenten!"

Neji and Tenten both stopped walking and turned around, Neji's eyebrow rising with curiosity when a green blur was quickly drawing closer. Tenten smiled in excitement, and in a few seconds, an awkward looking man with unusual eyes embraced her.

"Lee! I didn't know we would've caught up until tomorrow!"

There was laughter exchanged between the two, as the man known as Rock Lee excitedly began speaking about his solo mission. At appropriate times, Tenten laughed and added input, an encounter between the two so natural it was a second nature. Neji watched from the sidelines, patiently waiting for the two to finish their conversation.

"Who is this?" Lee asked, examining the Hyuuga for the first time.

Tenten grinned.

"He's our new partner. Hyuuga Neji, Rock Lee."

The two men exchanged firm handshakes, the electricity between the two not going unnoticed by Tenten.

"Oh please," she muttered under her breath.

There were moments of an awkward silence, before Lee's voice rang through the air.

"I am most ashamed that Fugaku put him with us," Lee darkly muttered, "It is no fun forcing someone to hell."

At this, Neji grinned.

"I assure you, I would have gone to hell anyway."

Tenten's heart lifted when the new team shared their very first smile.

-

****

-

"When will you explain this Police business to me?"

"Tomorrow, I promise. I'm exhausted."

-

****

-

As Neji crawled into his bed, blankly staring at his ceiling, his mind began to wander to the past two days, the most exciting moments of his life. A smirk lingered on his lips, his eyes shining with amusement and wonder.

His life was once just a blank, endless abyss – dark, boring – a never-ending life of killing and blood. As the faces of his new "teammates" flashed before his eyes, he could swear that dim lights began to flicker through the endless abyss.

Tomorrow, he would see those dim lights.

And tomorrow, he would face the challenges that lay ahead of him. The challenges he had promised himself he would never fight, and the challenges he promised himself he would never lose.

-

****

**-**

**-**

**-**

**-**

**TBC.**

**-**

**-**

**A/N:**Thanks so much for your reviews, everyone! I really appreciate it. C:  
Anyway, I don't know what to say about this chapter. XD  
I guess I sort of ended it in a way that made it seem like the end or something, and I guess I shouldn't have done it that way, but...I sorta like it.

So, anyway, after like, 3 chapters of stalling, the mysteries of the Police Department will be revealed!  
Thanks for reading, everyone!


	5. wonderment

Tenten quietly sat on Sakura's examination table, holding perfectly still for the Haruno to examine her physical shape and form. When news of Tenten's wound reached Sakura, she immediately exploded and delayed all her appointments in the hospital for proper treatment of Tenten. 

"It's only a gunshot wound," Tenten muttered, becoming intimidated by Sakura's concentrated, intimidating glare. "I've had worse."

At this, Sakura averted her gaze to irritably look into her best friend's eyes.

"_Only _a gunshot wound. How long has it been lodged in there? A day?"

Tenten bit her lip and nodded. 

"Why didn't you come to me right away?"

"Because you're grumpy."

The Haruno broke into a fit of incoherent curses, shaking her head before once again continuing her examination.

"Because I'm grumpy! Now, you go to Naruto and Sasuke, and say that _again._"

Tenten let out an exasperated sigh.

"I will. Don't worry."

-

-

**Something Profound  
****Chapitre Cinq – **_wonderment_

**Disclaimer:**I do not own Naruto.

-

-

Rock Lee and Hyuuga Neji impatiently sat in the cafeteria, both holding warm cups of tea between their calloused hands. There was an uncomfortable silence between the two teammates, both unsure of how to act in each other's presence. Neji quietly observed the unfamiliar surroundings of the mysterious Konoha Police Department, memorizing every face, every hallway, every door, for the third time. Lee switched between observing the mysterious Hyuuga to looking at his own reflection in his cup of tea. 

"I'm surprised," Lee finally said, his unusual eyes looking into the Hyuuga's for the first time that day. "Usually, someone would have asked to take a tour or something."

Neji grunted and took a sip of his tea, his pallid eyes seeming to pry into Lee's. 

"Anyone personally invited by Uchiha Fugaku would be unusual, don't you think?"

Lee offered a tiny smile. 

"True."

"_Sakura, _honestly, it wasn't that bad!"

Both turned to see Tenten walking side by side with Haruno Sakura, both of whom wore glum, frustrated expressions on their usually reserved faces. Behind them, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto followed, who seemed to be quarrelling on their own. 

"Are they always like that?" Neji asked.

Lee sheepishly grinned.

"They are. But that's why we're all the best of friends. If only the rest weren't all on missions."

Neji remained silent as all four took a seat at their table, all who crossed their arms and frustratingly glared into the eyes of their enemies. 

"Not that bad," Sakura huffed, "Keep dreaming, Tenten! It was ready to get infected. Why'd you sleep on it anyway?"

"Because I didn't want to wake you up!" 

"Because I'm a _grumpy person?_"

At this, Naruto quickly cut in.

"I'd leave it at that, Sakura. You _are_ grumpy when you don't get enough sleep."

Sasuke snorted. 

"Calling her grumpy is an understatement, dobe. She'll sock all our faces in if we interrupt her beauty sleep."

Sakura flushed with anger, instantly feeling betrayed by her two best friends and teammates. 

"Shut _up, _Naruto! You, too, Sasuke!" 

Both teammates smirked with victory and leaned back on their chairs, patiently waiting for the whole quarrel to be done. 

When silence ensued, everyone turned to Neji, quietly observing him with their specially trained hawk eyes. Every one of them scrutinized his tidy appearance, his too-pleasant demeanor that they all knew coated over his own, poisonous, sarcastic attitude. It surprised them when he returned their scrutinizing gazes, seeming to analyze them through his murky, pallid orbs; never once had they seen a newbie be so unperturbed by their presence. 

"Sakura, we've got a new mission. Are you ready?" Sasuke said, cutting through the silence with his baritone voice. 

"Oh, yeah! I forgot about that, teme!" Naruto said, quickly getting up on his feet and searching through his pockets for all his gadgets. 

"Don't we ever get a break?" Sakura grudgingly said, slowly getting up from her chair. "We need to stop by my place so I can change and everything. That okay?"

Sasuke nodded.

"I think the dobe needs to stop by his apartment, too. So, whatever."

Sakura smiled. 

"Alright. I'll see you later, everyone. Tenten, you better treat that wound like I told you to," Sakura said, throwing Tenten a glare. "I'm checking on it when we get back."

Tenten returned the gesture.

"Whatever you say, Doc. Bye!"

With one last wave, Team Seven exited the cafeteria, the constant bickering of Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto echoing across the walls. 

"Well, you ready, Neji?" Tenten asked, getting up from her seat and patiently waiting for her new teammate. 

"For what?"

"To understand."

"Ah, splendid idea, Tenten! I almost forgot I must report back to Fugaku-san. Good-bye!" Lee said, before quickly scurrying off to Fugaku's office. 

With only a quick nod from Neji, the two took off into the hallways. 

-

****

-

There was a comfortable silence between them as they wandered the hallways. Neji began to observe how she walked, how her eyes watched every little detail, how her legs made no sound against the floor. He realized that acting like a killer, or at least, a police officer, had become second nature. His mind began to wander to his mysterious benefactor, whom he still had not heard of since the night of the shooting, and he began to think about Tenten. He remembered too clearly the day he had been assigned to kill her. His benefactor had said her name so familiarly, so _icily, _that it irked him. Before the shooting had occurred, his benefactor had mentioned that he knew Tenten's past, and knew that there was no possibility that she would remember him. 

"Anyway, I'm sure we've all secrets to keep. But any you don't want to?" Tenten said, breaking through his reverie. 

Neji thought of both sides. If he told her any secrets, it would surely ruin his cover and his resolve; his secrets were gruesome, deadly, and painful. His secrets, if anything, were more like nightmares, the memories that haunted him in his slumber, constantly chasing away any hope of slumber. But then again, letting out these secrets would chase away these nightmares, allow him a security that someone knew, and perhaps, shared his pain. But even a Hyuuga was not as selfish to force someone else into their shell and suffer; even _he, _a most despicable, demoralized man, could not do that to anyone who appeared to be innocent. 

"No," he smoothly said. "They are mine."

Tenten offered her innocent smile and nodded, not once beginning to pry into his secret life. 

She knew, if anything, that the only people that could ever accept mysterious, brooding characters into their circle of friends, was people _just like them. _Every single on of them, including her, all held terrifying secrets, which stayed within their small circle. None were forced to speak these secrets, so none ever forced secrets out of anything, unless of course, it was required to do so for the completion of their mission.

Tenten realized that Neji was nothing out of the norm for their little circle. He was quiet, mysterious, and observed every tiny, little detail as if it would be the last. She knew that his senses were higher than average, due to the tiniest reactions of his body to distinct sounds that could not be picked up by the human ear. 

"Well, I guess you want to know everything about this place and what you've gotten into."

Neji smirked.

"That'd be nice."

Tenten smiled. 

"Well, first off. We're not the main office of the Konoha Police Department, more like a branch office. However, our boss, or, the head honcho around here, is Uchiha Fugaku. Though it's unreasonable to some that our leader is at a branch office, it makes sense to us. We function like any regular police department, however, the little circle of friends, part of which you witnessed, is only sent out to investigative cases. We are never dispatched for anything else: _only _for investigations. However, our police department holds a lot of secrets, which adds to the reasons why Uchiha Fugaku himself personally picks interns shown around here. Most likely, all those interns will be part of this branch office in their later years. The reason for all of this is, well, in all honesty, most of us are part of a special assassinations unit, that we call ANBU. You've already seen our uniforms, which were specially designed to blend into the light and darkness of city streets. We usually take out undergrounds, gangs, _whatever, _that disturb civilian peace and safety.

"However, our job's not exactly easy-peasy like taking out undergrounds. Usually, we're targeted by special organizations, because we disrupt their companies and whatever. But, since all of us always yearn for fights, it doesn't really perturb us that much."

"And you were all specifically picked by Fugaku?" Neji quickly asked. 

"Yeah. Naruto and I are sort of a special case, picked off the streets because we had nowhere else to go. However, everyone else usually came from prominent families who entered a private academy. All of us are sort of twisted, with some sort of crimes going on in our own specific families. The Harunos, for example, are known for their medical geniuses, but are very prominent factors in an underground drug trade. They've been taken out many times by Sakura herself, but since they are so important, they usually find a way to expand and flex their ways to get away from us. Fugaku's let them be for a while, keeping a close eye on them. They'll on be gone if Fugaku sees that they're a potential threat."

"That was not your secret to tell," Neji amusedly said. 

Tenten smiled. 

"We all know that. Sakura doesn't mind whenever she has to kill some members of her own family. Since she was a little girl, she hated it when her parents were never home because they were planning out some drug dealing. That's part of the main reasons she joined the police force and became a medic; it's sort of a sense of atoning for her family's wrongs. Then again, that's hypocrisy. Our jobs as police investigators are all hypocrisy. We keep our city streets as safe as we can, but we demoralize ourselves to _kill _to keep them safe. It's not all that fair, but nothing in society is 'fair'. Like you and Hinata, for example," Tenten said, looking at Neji with a new gleam present in her eyes. "You are the direct relatives of CEO Hyuuga Hiashi, but you are both in this force. Though Hinata hardly ever does assassination missions to 'kill' with her team she _has _shed blood before. We're all twisted. Every human being."

"Is that all I needed to understand? Because I've known that all."

Tenten smiled.

"Pretty much. But let me make this clear. You never, _ever _defy Fugaku's orders. You never, _ever_fail a mission. And you never, _ever _betray our secrets. That is your duty as an ANBU."

"I'm not entitled to anything," The Hyuuga quickly reminded. 

"But you are bound to everything."

-

****

-

The two were out in an enclosed field now, standing on opposite sides as silence once again reigned between them. Tenten had suggested sparring, only for the benefits of learning all his techniques to better accompany him on the battlefield, at which Neji agreed. Both had been tired of a dull, action-less life, and had been yearning for _something _to come up. 

"I'll let you in on some things. I'm usually airborne in our assassination missions. I _always _throw my weapons. I _never _miss a target. Lee is a forward, speedy on his feet and speedy to kill. We _never _let our backs be exposed to the enemy. And we _never _die."

Neji smirked. 

"Alright then. Shall we begin?"

As they ran towards each other, Neji realized one more thing about Tenten. 

She was not the innocent, carefree girl that she always appeared to be. 

Beneath her innocence was an untamed lioness, waiting for the perfect moments to strike her prey. Or, perhaps, she was a peregrine falcon, so graceful in the sky, yet so deadly when her beak plummeted down to catch her prey. 

There were many things to be understood. 

Things that she did not want to tell him.

But what had stood out the most, behind her chestnut orbs, was a darkness that lay there.

A darkness that made tremors of fear erupt through his body.

A darkness that always shouted out in a horrific, terrifying, broken, _innocent, _five-year-old voice...

'_nobody ever wants me' _

"_...We are all so wanted for the wrong reasons."_

And he wondered as he tried to see through the darkness,

'_do I want her for the wrong reasons?' _

When her weapons zipped through the air, he shook his head and wondered. 

'_do they want her for the right reasons?' _

-

****

-

-

-

**TBC.**

**-**

**-**

**A/N: **I am SOOOOO sorry for like, a MONTH of no updating?  
I started up this story for my friend, and I'm sorta addicted to it like no other, haha.  
Anyway, the secrets weren't much...  
Actually, this chapter really isn't much, in my opinion. But I hope you guys like it. (:

So, yeah, this fanfic is mainly based on Neji chasing Tenten.  
For some reason, I like writing fanfics where the guy has to chase the girl, because it always seems that it's the girls stuck chasing the guys. 

Next chapter gets some MISSION ACTION IN.  
Oh yeahhh, baby.

Thanks for your support, everyone!  
(And I seriously apologize for not updating in a month. It'll come quicker next time!)


	6. understanding

Being alone never particularly bothered Neji. He was used to sitting in the corner of the cafés and the restaurants, just observing every single person live another second of their lives. He was accustomed to sitting alone in a large mansion, with only the noises of his actions and movements gracing his ears. Being alone was almost like a second nature, or perhaps an instinct, for Hyuuga Neji.

It was his casual routine.

He was born to be alone.

Anything new to casual routine was a threat. Anything new was meant to be _repelled..._

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**Something Profound  
Chapitre Six - **_understanding_

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.

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"You're better than I expected," Tenten casually said, taking a sip of water to cool her body down. "I'm surprised you're not intimidated by me when I let all my projectiles loose."

Neji smirked as he patiently leaned against a tree, allowing himself to catch more breath as he occasionally wiped away sweat that was dripping from his forehead.

"I've seen worse."

Tenten smiled at his reply, wiping sweat from her brow as she continued to chug down her water. A comfortable silence ensued between them as Tenten gradually sat down on a log, Neji still remaining standing.

Neji took this time to observe the odd spectacle of a girl. His attention was first drawn to her eyes. They were a beautiful shade of chestnut that glittered nicely against the sunlight. He noticed the sparks of life lingering there, never once fading. Next, he scrutinized her silky, brown hair. Even as her bangs were stuck together with her sweat, he knew that if she had ever let her hair fall out of her two buns, it would look phenomenal and he was positive that if any man could ever _see _her in such _natural _beauty as he did, she would already have an engagement ring around her finger. After, he noticed her flawed skin. Everywhere, her tanned skin was flayed with an assortment of scars, some tiny, and some grotesquely disturbing. But there was one scar – or, he realized, a sort of tattoo that was specifically designed to look like a scar – shaped like a flame on her left arm.

Hyuuga Neji _knew _Tenten was an imperfect woman – a woman whose skin was flawed, a woman who was modest and strayed from showing the full potential of her beauty. Instead, she was _ordinary. _He wouldn't necessarily dub her "mediocre", for he knew she was much more than that. She was much more than _ordinary. _But there was something about her, something about her modest, outer beauty, which showed that she was an ordinary girl that was completely comfortable keeping her phenomenal, outer beauty hidden, and being herself, regardless of how weird or how extraordinary people would see it.

"Are you _staring?_"

His attention was then, momentarily, drawn to her lips, and he found that they were perfectly moisturized, not at all chapped even after their spar. Her lips were formed in an amused smile, and he was broken out of his trance, his eyes snapping open to once more look at her as a whole, no longer focused upon different aspects of her body. He heard laughter erupt from her lips, and he was instantly perturbed when he found himself _calmed. _

This girl was an _intrusion _upon his casual routine! _Not _some sort of mediator of his emotions!

"You were _staring!" _

She continued to wholeheartedly laugh, and he once again wondered why there was such a darkness lingering beneath her imperfect façade.

"I was not," he stiffly replied, going on the defensive and indignantly crossing his arms and looking away.

She laughed once more before dying down to a soft giggle, shaking her head in disapproval.

"Whatever you say, Neji."

Another silence interrupted between them. Neji made sure he kept his contact away from the girl, already angered at himself by getting carried away by _staring _at her. Tenten continued to inwardly laugh at the small barrier that she has just broken. However, this time the silence was interrupted by Tenten's spontaneous hiss of pain, growling when she looked at her tattoo, which was now glowing a red. Neji looked at the tattoo with interest, his interested piqued when her palm slapped against the tattoo as she once again hissed with pain.

"Tenten – "

"Let's go," she said, straining her voice and standing from her place, her hand still clamped over the wound. "We've a mission."

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Lee had already arrived when the pair walked into Fugaku's office, Tenten's hand still clamped over her burning tattoo. Fugaku eyed her, annoyance found beneath his brooding, dark eyes. Neji noted the irritated look found in the Uchiha's eyes, but said nothing of it.

"Still unused to the pain, Tenten?" The Uchiha grunted.

"Well, Fugaku-san," Tenten smoothly said, her brow narrowed in extreme annoyance, "It was extremely unpleasant of you to place it over a scar. A scar that has been there for as long as I could remember."

Fugaku grinned, darkly chuckling and shaking his head. Tenten remained irked, clenching her hands tightly into fists to keep her self-control in check.

"Which reminds me to get the Hyuuga one," Fugaku mused.

There was silence as Fugaku wrote himself a note on his desk, his pen quickly scratching against the paper. When he was finished, he once more looked up, and eyed the newly completed team with a smile that sent chills down even Neji's bones.

"There is a two-man gang from Kiri (1). One is Momochi Zabuza, an ex-cop from their own police force. The other is his apprentice of some sort, Haku. They are threatening merchants to and from our city to theirs, which is causing the stock market to rise to compensate. _Destroy _them. Annoying citizens won't stop complaining to our main office, which, in turn, is calling me. I want them _dead _by the time you return."

"That's all, Fugaku-san?" Lee asked.

Fugaku grinned.

"Sharp, sharp. Your time frame is one week. Don't be late. The earlier the better."

With a curt nod, he dismissed the team from his quarters. Before he allowed the Hyuuga to slip away after his two teammates, he stopped him with his voice.

"I'm not asking for a bloodbath, but if you wish so, there better be a good reason for it, Hyuuga."

When Neji grinned, it went unnoticed by Tenten, whose eyebrow rose with surprise.

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Neji was like a silent shadow when his team embarked on their first mission as a three-man squad. Their supervising officer, Gai, was restless, irritating, and playful. Lee was exactly like Gai, down to the green spandex suit and antics. Tenten, once in a while, added to the conversation when needed, sometimes irritatingly asking the two men to shut up or find a new topic. When she did so, Lee and Gai just laughed, and continued on. He realized they were a family, just short of a mother. And he was the newcomer, still blending into the shadows to see how this family functioned. It was good for his mission, he mused, to understand exactly how this odd family lived.

"So, what do you think, Neji?" Tenten quietly asked.

"Interesting," he promptly said.

"That's a massive understatement to me," she muttered in reply. "Lee and Gai-sensei are nutcases."

His eyebrows rose at her symphony of laughter, yet he allowed the tiniest smile to grace his lips.

"Except," the woman continued, "It makes me happy inside. It reminds me of people I can't remember."

The Hyuuga remained silent. He was calculating his steps carefully, and any false move could destroy his entire purpose of allowing himself to get captured by Tenten in the first place.

"My parents," she softly began, "Always seemed like Lee and Gai-sensei. Happy, insane. But..."

Tenten shook her head, her chestnut orbs seeming to dull with disapproval and hidden despair. Neji noticed tears beginning to brim at her eyes, but was surprised when the shine of tears disappeared as soon as it had come.

"But then that all left. I remember the searing pain in my left arm, their horrible laughs..."

The woman shivered, goose bumps seen against her scarred skin. Neji said nothing; he knew the feeling of losing parents at such a young age. He knew the feelings of loneliness well, knew every cave of emptiness in his heart and soul like the back of his hand. It was something that he had become a second nature to him, and something he had become apathetic to.

Silence rested with the two teammates, whom occasionally added commentary to Lee and Gai's conversations. The words between them were scarce; with their joining as a team, there had come an unexplainable understanding. For this understanding, Neji felt annoyance. Never once has somebody understood him before, and the feeling of having a person penetrate through one of his defensive barriers was scary to him. New things in his life were unwelcome; he had learned that lesson from childhood. And there comes a woman who penetrates a barrier without thinking – that is the scariest to him.

Hyuuga Neji is afraid to be understood.

They soon neared the Land of Mist, Kirigakure, and Neji was soon thankful that Tenten was harder to see through the increasingly hazy forest and roads.

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"We'll split up into two rooms," Gai promptly ordered, in arrival at the inn that Fugaku had reserved for them. "Eventually, we'll do separate rounds of the village to find Zabuza and Haku's underground connections and bases. On these rounds we will also study the merchant roads for their protection and will find the best moment to strike."

There was a murmur of approval, and Gai smiled.

"Break of dawn. Good night! Rest your flowers of youth."

At that, Lee and Gai offered smiles before heading into the room, both already starting up a chatter of finally beating Kakashi and Sasuke. Tenten sighed and shook her head, playing with the room key in her fingers, before heading down the hall.

"I hate how they always take the closest room!" She groaned. "And the fact that we're always on opposite sides of the hotel..._ugh._"

Neji smirked, following along without a word.

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Tenten quietly slept, twisting and turning every once in a while in the hotel bed. Neji was on the opposite bed, the one that was closest to the door, and sat on the mattress, his eyes closed as he attempted to merge with the hotel's silence. His mind wandered across his life, how his mother left him when he was five, how he saw his father dismembered and bleeding, how Hiashi took him in, and how he was brought into the world of crime. It was all linked to him; every bitter memory that was registered in his brain led to one life-changing event to another.

His pallid eyes opened as he watched Tenten quietly sleep. She was peaceful; her face was so calm and relaxed that he truly did wonder how many secrets she chose to keep from him. Her hair was still in the two panda-ear buns, yet he could see loose waves beginning to break through the tie's hold. Her breathing was even, and he realized that it was just short of being the exact same way she breathed while awake; when she was conscious, her breathing was somewhat hitched, but it was barely noticeable to untrained eyes and ears. The Hyuuga mused that he was probably the only person who would realize the nature of Tenten's breathing; he was trained far too young to not be able realize such things. He smirked when the nearly unnoticeable patterns in her breathing hitched once more.

"You know," her soft voice quietly came, "It's rude to stare."

She slowly turned to face him, her chestnut orbs seeming to gleam under the moonlight.

"_You know," _Neji sarcastically said, purposefully echoing her, "Your secrets are hard kept."

Her eyes narrowed and her delicate fingers clutched her pillow.

"_What?" _She asked.

"Your breathing," The Hyuuga began to explain, "Changes. Even when you are in the most relaxed state while conscious, it's still different from your sleep breathing. Usually, it's the same for most people. But for you, there's a tiny hitch while you're conscious. Like you're always on guard, almost tense."

There was silence as Tenten mulled over the bullseye explanation, her brow narrowing and her lips forming a thin, pursed line. She flipped to her side, facing the bedroom window, as she continued to ponder. How had he been able to so readily observe her breathing patterns? Even Fugaku, and perhaps even _Sasuke, _would be unable to sense the hitch that she believed only _she _had been able to sense.

"How?" She finally asked, turning on her side and facing him again.

"How what?"

Tenten frowned.

"How do you know? How do you notice so much about me?"

Neji smirked, and quietly chuckled. Tenten's eyes widened at the Hyuuga's show of emotion, be it humor about what she had said, but said nothing of it.

"Well, Tenten," he finally said, after a few moments of chuckling and keeping his partner on the edge, "It's quite easy when the answers are all in front of you."

And for once, Tenten was left speechless, and instead turned away from him, attempting to fall asleep.

"You can't fool me," the Hyuuga softly said. "I'll know."

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Tenten tried her hardest to find words to describe her irritation. But she found nothing, which irritated her even more. She was miffed, for the sake of using _a _word, to no end by Neji's bulls-eye interpretation and understanding of her when they haven't even done so much to speak with each other outside of training or missions. Even her best friends, even _Sasuke, _were unable to understand her in such a short span of time, let alone _realize _that her breathing patterns were not as they should be.

What she had thought was the most impossible to understand about her was to remain misunderstood, but in the span of one week, a man she has hardly known already has broken through her tough barriers, boasting of his knowledge and accuracy of his senses. Nobody had ever understood her to such a degree in such a short expanse of time, and this frightened her. She was supposed to be Tenten, the girl with no surname, the girl who was lighthearted but held too many secrets to be truly happy. Everyone accepted that and asked no questions, unless of course, they were in the group of her closest friends. No _stranger _dared to risk their life to ask her anything about her past.

"Are you angry with me?" His cool voice came.

"An understatement, really," Tenten replied.

"Why?" He asked.

Tenten turned around to face him once more. Her chestnut eyes were narrowed in thought, her lips pursed in a thin, rigid line. For a moment, Neji would have thought her beautiful, with her hair falling out of her standard panda-ear buns.

"Is it really so hard to understand?" She muttered.

When the Hyuuga didn't answer, she dug deeper into her pillow, staring intently at the man, her lips moving to form a tiny, upward lift of her lips.

"You're the same way, aren't you?"

"What?" Neji asked, his eyes narrowing.

"You hate to be understood."

When his pallid eyes burned into her own, she closed her eyes, satisfied.

They were even, for the time being.

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When her breathing slowed, the Hyuuga allowed a tiny smile to grace his lips.

"It's going to be a long day tomorrow," he muttered, lying down on his bed and pulling the covers over him. "It's good you sleep."

When she murmured in response, he closed his pallid eyes. The girl was already miles past his barriers.

_They want me for the wrong reasons._

He continued to wonder once more.

_Do I want her for the right?_

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**TBC**

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**A/N: **I am SOOOO sorry it took so effing long for me to update again! I sort of had a block. Uhm...er, yeah, I'm really sorry. ;; Thank you all for your reviews (:  
Kiri – "Kirigakure" – Land Hidden in the Mist

I'll try to update much sooner, but, uh, yeah. If you want anything to happen, just drop it in your reviews or something. I don't mind (:  
Hopefully, next chapter will be as action-packed as I want it to.

Thank you guys (:


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